8 theSun | MONDAY APRIL 20 2009

news without borders

Asian cities costliest

for expatriate housing
by Karen Arukesamy
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: Asian cities
dominate the world’s costliest loca-
tions for expatriate rental property,
according to a survey of housing
costs for employees on overseas as-
signments.
A rental property index of 50 most
popular cities for expatriate assign-
Obama ments, from a total of 300 across the
world lists Russia’s Moscow at the
wins top and Johannesburg, South Africa,
praise as at the bottom.
summit The global index of housing
markets was compiled in October
ends last year by consulting, outsourcing
pg 10 and investment services provider
Mercer.
Tokyo (156.10) sits in second po-
sition on the index, up from third last
year due to 17% appreciation in the
value of the yen against the dollar
since September, while Hongkong
dropped one place to third (142.10)
due to rental prices decreasing as a
result of reduced demand from the
economic slowdown. Mumbai was
in fourth position (105.10) and New
York in fifth (100.00).
Other Asian cities moving up the
ranking table include Beijing, at sixth
place (98.30) with its rental prices
stable and its currency linked to the
US dollar; New Delhi in eighth place
(96.60) and Bangalore at 29 (51.80).
With Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur,
Manila and Bangkok climbing up
the rankings and Singapore main-
taining its position in the top 10,
though dropping one place to 10th
due to “weakening demand”, Asean
cities have become relatively more
expensive for expatriate housing
compared to the rest of the world.
Jakarta rose from 41 to 34, Manila
moved up from 45 to 40, Bangkok
from 48 to 44 and Kuala Lumpur
moved up one rung to 36.
Mercer senior associate and
research manager Marie-Laurence
Sèpède said in a statement that the
world’s housing markets have been
sliding since last year, and strong
currency fluctuations over the past
few months have also had an impact
on the cost of expatriate housing.
Mercer’s head of informa-
tion product solutions for Asean,
Puneet Swani, said rental prices in
most Asean cities have remained
stable compared with sharp falls
in American and European cities,
which accounts for the relatively
higher rankings of Asean cities this
year.
He said Asean as a region will
continue to grow and remains a
relatively good area for multination-
als to invest and grow their business
during this downturn.
“It will be interesting to see what
2010 brings for the housing market
in Asean, but if current conditions
are any indication, we may see
Singapore continue to move down,
with other Asean countries either
maintaining the same position or
moving up marginally,” Swani said.
Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City is
up 11 places to 23rd position (55.10)
while Seoul dropped five places to
16 (73.30).

11 killed in light supplementary credit cards

briefs
Madonna suffers
injuries in fall
NEW YORK: US singer and
actress Madonna suffered
minor injuries on Saturday
when she was thrown from
a horse after the animal was
startled by photographers on
New York’s Long Island.
The 50-year-old entertainer
was later released from a hos-
pital with minor injuries and
bruises, her spokeswoman Liz
Rosenberg said in a statement.
– Reuters
Western nations
boycott UN meet
GENEVA: Australia and the
Netherlands yesterday joined
a growing Western boycott
of a United Nations confer-
ence on racism over fears it
will be used as a platform for
unfair criticism of Israel.
The United States an-
nounced on Saturday it
would stay away, citing
“objectionable” language
in a text prepared for the
Geneva summit, which
Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad will address
on its opening day today.
Canada, Italy and Israel
have said they will not at-
tend the meeting. – Reuters
plane crash
TIMIKA (Indonesia): Eleven
people were killed when
their light plane crashed in
Indonesia’s mountainous
Papua province, an airfield
official said yesterday.
Timika Air Base com-
mander Easter Haryanto, who
is coordinating search efforts,
said rescue teams have
reached the wreckage of the
Mimika Air plane on a steep
slope on Mount Gergaji.
“We confirm that all pas-
sengers and crew members
are dead. The bodies are still
in the plane and we hope to
transfer them into body bags
today and fly them to Ilaga
today for identification,” he
added. – AFP
Singapore monk
on the fast lane
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s top
Buddhist monk has lived a
lavish lifestyle with branded
goods and nine gold credit
cards, according to a report
in the Sunday Times.
“We are living in a mod-
ern world,” the newspaper
quoted monk Ming Yi as
telling auditors and police
during an investigation into
a charity hospital that he
had headed.
The report said Ming Yi
was a high-end shopper
who spent on brands like
Louis Vuitton and Mont-
blanc, and had given three
to his friends.
The 47-year-old former
CEO of a charity-run hospi-
tal is under investigation for
making an unauthorised loan
of S$50,000 (RM120,000) to
a friend. – dpa
Eagle snatches
woman’s handbag
VIENNA: An eagle shocked
an elderly Austrian woman
on Saturday when it swooped
down and snatched her hand-
bag, police in the Tyrolean
town of Kundl said yesterday.
The eagle was apparently
looking for food. The 69-year-
old woman was walking with
her family when the bird of
prey robbed her bag, landed
nearby and started rummag-
ing through it for food. – dpa
Nato warships foil
pirate attack
NAIROBI: Nato warships
foiled a pirate attack on a
Norwegian tanker, catch-
ing up with the would-be
hijackers yesterday after a
seven-hour pursuit.
The dramatic overnight
chase in the Gulf of Aden
came after seven pirates
on a skiff tried to board
the 80,000-tonne MV Front
Ardennes but fled when
foreign ships approached.
A Belgian ship, the Pompei,
was not so lucky, falling into
pirate hands 150km north of
the Seychelles. – AFP